FITNESS LIFESTYLE

WORKOUTS A DEUX!

By: Lisa Moretti

Bored of old gym workouts and looking for some action together? Here’s how to incorporate some alternative fitness fun into your love life.

There are numerous benefits to working out with your Mr. or Ms. McDreamy – pheromones start wafting, endorphins flood the body…oh, and you get fit to boot. For your health or your relationship, you can use fitness to keep it phresh! Working out together can be a natural aphrodisiac but it also ensures greater success in sticking to your fitness goals. In a study from Indiana University, couples who joined a fitness program together stuck with it versus singles who tried to go it alone.

Tired of having your partner be a spotter or someone to motivate you to keep going at the gym? How about changing things up with some unique ways to stay fit together outside of the club? Try something new and you might just find a special way to get closer. Hey, it gives cardio-conditioning a whole new meaning, eh?!

Hike It, Bike It, Blade It!
Choosing a fitness opportunity for two is pretty easy when you keep a few things in mind: make sure it allows for communication during the activity, be careful not to become overly competitive, and find something that allows both people to participate successfully. It’s not really fun to watch a speck on the horizon when you planned to work out “together” and something like swimming laps hardly promotes the kind of quality time you’re looking for. In our fast-paced lives, finding time together can be a real challenge. But, by making the time with the one you love meaningful along with the sense of achievement you get by meeting your goals in tandem, you’ll find your health and your relationship will be stronger for it.

Consider some options that not only allow you to workout together but also give you something to work toward. For example, consider a hiking trip in the Alps and start your conditioning routine together. How about a bicycle trip through the Cotswolds with fluffy lambs bounding by as you see the English countryside? Did you know you can see Switzerland on Rollerblades? Maybe you both would enjoy trail running in the Andes and Patagonia. Whatever you choose, having a goal and achieving it together makes the experience that much sweeter. It’s a great way to get hooked on something healthy…and on each other.
Planning Resources: Mountain Travel Sobek – Alps Hiking, Cotswold Country Cycles, Zephyr Inline Skate Tours, Andes Running Adventures.

A Different Kind of Contact Sport
You probably have seen yoga done with a partner, but how about trying a new twist on an ancient art? AcroYoga combines yoga, Thai massage and acrobatics to create a unique form of exercise and a fun way to cultivate trust, communication and connection with a sense of playfulness. Whether you’re trying some therapeutic flying or some mutually beneficial partner asanas, AcroYoga gives you both the opportunity to get your heart racing as well as to reconnect, listen, expand and explore. Plan to attend a retreat or workshop to get the ball rolling and begin your AcroYoga experiment safely. You can find classes and retreats at www.acroyoga.org.


If you want to take it slow before you try flying through the air with your partner, sample a simple Couples Yoga class at your local yoga studio. You can find out if you and your partner are well-suited to this ancient art and if it’s enjoyable for both of you. Also, look for an instructor who is comfortable for both of you. If the granola goddess is not your cup of tea, find someone who is more straightforward. You can try looking in your local Yellow Pages for studios or contact your local Parks and Recreation Department. Some spas also offer retreats to get you started, so check out Spa Finder.com for ideas.

Twisting The Night Away
The success of “Dancing with the Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance” on television has reignited a passion for couples dance. To see football great Emmet Smith straining to keep up with his lithe partner was truly a testament to the physical conditioning that’s required to glide across the dance floor. If you can put aside the embarrassment as you transform those two left feet, you might find that the trust, communication, and bonding created by ballroom and other styles of dance startling.

Not only does dance involve verbal communication, but it also requires non-verbal communication like touching, looking into each other’s eyes, and working as team. Ken Richards, of USA Dance, a national ballroom dance organization, estimates that ballroom dancing burns 250 to 400 calories an hour; like a good trek on a treadmill but far more interesting! Some dances like the Cha-Cha, Latin Salsa, and Samba can be even more intense workouts, so be sure to bring a towel.

The benefits of ballroom are also in your brain; as you learn steps and sequences, you create left-right brain challenges with many of the dance moves. You should find that your improved coordination leads to less sports-related injuries in the gym and on the go. What’s even better? You and your partner will set a new standard at the next wedding reception you attend, leaving all the other couples sighing that they wish they could move together as romantically as you two hard bodies. To find a local ballroom dance class, look for an Arthur Murray or Fred Astaire studio in town or find a nightclub that offers classes before the dancing shifts into high gear. To get started, it might be best to try a private lesson so you can feel less self-conscious or more at ease to trip and giggle.

Stroke It!
If you and your partner like an early morning workout and you live near water, consider rowing together or kayaking – both require coordinated effort, upper and lower body strength, and stamina. It’s also a great way to enjoy nature! Finally you two can put all those hours on the rowing machine to work for you – try sculls or sweeps. Sculls are long, wooden boats and you use a paddle in each hand; sweeps use only one paddle. Kayaking together can also be a great way to work out if you live near a lake, river or ocean. Usually we think of white water kayaking, which can be pretty intense, but you can also kayak through Thailand, into wildlife refuges in the Carolinas, or alongside killer whales and dolphins in British Columbia. Just remember, depending on your personalities, it may be best to learn from an instructor first before you try to navigate the waters – rowing and paddling take mental focus, coordination and patience during the learning phase. Once you get your stroke down, it should be smooth sailing.
Planning Resources: US Rowing Organization, Paddle Asia, Nature Adventures Outfitters, West Coast Expeditions.

Oh…And Then There’s That Too
What discussion of couples fitness would be complete without a nod to good old-fashioned sex? Although a romp in the hay probably shouldn’t be your only fitness program, you can apply some of those new-found skills from your fitness forays into the bedroom. Consider Tantric Yoga as a complement to your AcroYoga. Use the non-verbal communication you’ve learned from ballroom dance to make your horizontal mambo more meaningful. And use the stamina and coordination you’ve gained from hiking, biking, blading, and rowing to keep your relationship full of vigor and vitality.

And…sex really only burns about 260 calories an hour, so get back out on the dance floor! MS&F

Calories You Can Burn Together
Hiking 431
Biking 633
Rollerblading 364
Trail Running 700
Yoga 200 - 370
Ballroom Dancing 220 -403
Rowing 508
Kayaking 364
Note: Trail Running uses Step Aerobics for calculations
Source: http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc – based on average weight of 160 pounds.